wayne and vanessa

hi everyone
we're thinking of making the move and working in gib and living either from estapona down to la linea or the other side from cadiz down to la linea not sure yet have recc it well and rent first, but we have a 3 yr old boy which we need to find as much as poss about schooling for from state/international/prices/hrs etc etc so i would be very gratefull for any help,advice on schools etc.
thank wayne

lynnxa

I can't help with schools in that area, but before you make a decision re International school read this

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=564426

wayne and vanessa

hi i did read that before you showed me..not good! how did yours feel when they went to state not speaking any spanish was they taught in english aswell see'ing as they was the only 2 kids in the class that was english?
wots the diff between the gcse grades in international and the ones you get in spain schools i was under the impression that the gcse ones was better??im not too sure about that tho??

lynnxa

Mine were pretty much happier from day 1 in the spanish system - the younger one HATED the international school - she had been to pre-school in England & the States - and was very relaxed about that sort of thing - but she HATED the international school.


In our area there are a lot of expats from various countries, so they weren't the only english kids - & no, they weren't taught in english at all -

you wouldn't expect a spanish kid to be taught in spanish in England, would you!?

they have had to learn two languages - spanish & the local language, valenciano

my older dd has just started German, too

The IGCSE that they do in the British schools here do have a better reputation than the GCSEs - but the spanish state school system is totally different

Rotor

Avoid the international schools ,your child is unlikley to learn good spanish and they will cost you a small fortune, use the state school for at least the first 5 or 6 years ,then your child will start correcting your spanishLike my 6 year old dose me, it great to hear them converse in perfect spanish then switch to english

wayne and vanessa

lol i bet it is weird just seems weird that all of a sudden someone is talkin alien to them must be weird for them till they pick a bit up,but wot i have read is that state schools are best to intergrate them quicker lingo n all,the other half seems to think other wise tho for some reason..he's only 3 at the mo..wot are the schooling hrs think my other half read that they have long dinners and you have to pick them up??? dont know if they was state or international or even if it was true??lol
has your 6 yr old picked it up really well then rotor? how long they been going? all info welcome as much as poss
thanks wayne

valenciatim

Can't help with the Costa Del Sol. but here in Valencia, our local state school take them from 3 tears upwards and they do 9 to 4.30 Monday to Thursday and 9 to 3 on a Friday, including lunch. As we are more than 3kms from the school, there is a free school bus and lunches are subsidised for primary school pupils also because of the distance. Infants are not subsidised for lunches but the bus is still free.
You have to pay for all of their school books as well, both text books and writing books, and all other materials, any school trips (usually 1 per term) are also subsidised.
My 8 year old has been there 4 years, and my 4 year old a year. In both cases, their Spanish is better than their English, and they both love it there.

Rotor

She holds a proper converstations in english and spanish no problem and started spanish nursery part time at 2 1/2 years now in a state school with around 99% natives ,and most important of all she loves school

School times vary from shool to school.

Rgds

Rotor

cajam31

At the age of 3 your child will be fine going into a spanish school, they will pick it up in no time. Even kids much older than that normally cope well and pick the language up. Also consider if you think you will be here permanently, If you are planning on staying for good its better for them to go to a spanish school so thye are fluent in spanish and go through the spanish system, but if you are planning on returning to the UK after a while then an international school may be better suited for you.

lynnxa

3 tears??

mine didn't have that many

jdr

From age 3 here too.

wayne and vanessa

age 3??

valenciatim

They can actually start full time at age 2 and a half. The school year is based on their year of birth.

lynnxa

school - they start school at about 3

trentino

My son has been at Laude International School San Pedro (used to be Kings College) for 3 weeks now. Really likes it, they do 7 hours of spanish a week and take little ones from 3, plus summer school if you need it.